


Rape

by Ivycat



Category: Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Rape Recovery, Romance, Telepathic Bond, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-24
Updated: 2014-04-05
Packaged: 2018-01-16 21:38:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1362595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ivycat/pseuds/Ivycat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"When you have been through an experience like mine, painful memories do not need a trigger, they are ever present in the front of my mind, a constant companion to ever breath I take." Deals with Adult content.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

All characters belong to L.J. Smith and the WB. No copyright infringement is intended. The lines spoken as Damon and Elena are about to enter her house were written by the writers of the WB show, they are not my own.

This deals with the episode where Stefan is trapped in the tomb with Katherine.

A.N. This fiction will soon have an 'M' rating. Adult situations will be dealt with. Please be advised now, I know I have no control over your actions, but, please, if you are a minor, respect my wishes and do not read.

Chapter one

Rape © Ivycat 2009

On the drive back to Mystic Falls from Richmond Elena leaned her head back against the seat of the car watching as the scenery blurred by. Damon was traveling fast, much to fast as a matter of fact, but then he always did. She gave a discrete tug at her seatbelt to make sure it was still fastened securely.

She stifled a sigh. The last few days had been hard, filled with adrenaline and danger and Elena could feel exhaustion trying to push its way to the front of her mind. She resolutely pushed it back. She was fine, she could take this. After all, she was strong enough to try and sacrifice herself to save her family and friends. She took a breath, exhaling slowly, hoping to relieve the migraine that was starting to form. She wished that she could ask for some aspirin, but Damon was still in a fury over her stunt in Richmond and she knew if he detected the slightest weakness in her he would use that as an excuse to torment her further. He would most assuredly see a headache as weakness. He was especially vicious with his digging comments if he was angry, and he was beyond angry right now, she had seen that when she tried to slap him. She took a quick look out of the corner of her eye at his stony profile. There was no change in his posture, the only thing that actually had moved since the start of the drive was his hands on the wheel. She was not even sure if he had blinked.

She would have rather not have had to ride back with him, but since Rose had fled she was short a ride, and the taxi fare would have been a year's allowance for her.

For a fleeting moment she thought about breaking the tense silence, but then tightened her lips and turned towards the window and stared at the countryside rolling by. He had offended her by calling her out on her hysterics and overly dramatic reaction to finding out about Klaus. How dare he call her stupid, treat her as a child that was behaving recklessly? Why was she not allowed to decide her own fate?

They continued their mutual 'ignore each other' understanding, at least till they reached Elena's house. As Elena went up the stairs to the door she gave a deflated sigh,

"Damon, thank you for giving me a ride home."

He looked sour and shrugged, "Well, your ride left you. I did not want to leave you stranded."

"She was just scared; she didn't mean to run." Elena defended.

"Yes she did." His voice was like a splash of icy water on her. "She has been running for five hundred years." His eyes were hard, angry, but he was also telling the truth, she knew that, and at that moment it only served to fuel her irritation with him.

Then, stopping a good quarrel in the making, Jeremy cracked the door open and looked at the pair of them squaring off on the door step. He was feeling incredibly guilty. The monumentalness of his stupidity in creating the situation that had ended in trapping Stefan in the cave with Katherine was washing over him in waves. He knew it was his fault, and he knew that soon Elena would start to blame him for it.

He took a breath, looking over at Elena. "It's Stefan…"

Elena's heart beat as if it were trying to escape her chest and distance herself from the pain she was in. She knew she had lost it in the tomb with Damon, she could see that now. But it was impossible, heart rending, infuriating. It was a completely convoluted situation. How cruel was the universe? First she fell in love with a vampire, as if that was not enough of an obstacle, she found she was adopted, a Doppelganger, and somehow, a psycho- vampire magnet. Then her family was endangered because of her, and when she decided to end the threat in the most direct, head on way she could, that failed, and while she was there Stefan got thrown into the tomb and would be there for the foreseeable future. Bile rose in her throat, she thought she would gag. She coughed and retched, leaning against a tree for support.

She just couldn't take it anymore. Hence her melt-down. Though, come to think of it, her entire past forty-eight hours had been a series of melt-downs. I mean, really, who decided to go willingly into being a ritual sacrifice? There was nothing remotely logical about that. She bit her lip and looked at her feet No wonder Damon was in such a rage there was obviously no room for any one else's instabilities in his life other than his own.

She took a deep breath, looking around the forest; there was no sign of Damon, for all she knew he had left her after he had talked to Stefan. Although she knew, given his past pattern of behavior that wasn't a likely scenario, on the other side of that, he was so erratic and unstable that she had no idea just WHAT he might be doing.

She straightened up and rolled her neck. She was stiff and uncomfortable; sitting in a fury for a four hour drive was not good for the muscles, it produced a lot of tension.

She started to turn towards the car, but then hesitated and decided to walk; she needed time to clear her head. In a moment of rationality she knew she needed to let Damon know what she was going to do. She called out,

"Damon?"

There was no answer in the still deepness of the forest. She had been right, he had left her, well, it was a long walk, but then who knew, maybe that was just what she needed. It would be refreshing after her long drive. Refreshing, just what she needed…

She had walked for about twenty minutes till she grew more and more fatigued with every step, then, she paused thinking it all over, if Damon was not there at the tomb then why could she not go back and persuade Stefan to see her and talk to her? Without a second thought she turned on her heel and retraced her steps.

It was getting harder and harder to make every step, but Elena doggedly persevered. It was getting darker and blacker every passing second but Elena was able to retrace her way to the tomb by sheer instinct aided by the memory of her years playing in the area. She felt her way down the stairs. The air was cool and damp, filled with a sour musty smell that reminded her of crushed dreams. She bit her lip in a moment of uncertainty.

"Stefan?"

Her voice echoed and bounced around the room giving it a disembodied tone. It was eerie, spooky, suddenly she was filled with a sense of doom. Something awful was about to happen, she just knew it. Suddenly she was filled with fear. She, who had not been afraid all day, was now afraid over… nothing. Her feet scuffing the leaves sounded unnaturally loud in the stillness. She strained her eyes into the darkness, as if she could will her eyes to pierce the gloom.

"Stefan, I know you can hear me…" There was not a sound except for the ragged sound of her breaths.

"Stefan, why won't you talk to me? What have I done? Stefan? Please, please, Stefan, please, just speak to me." Her voice quavered and she felt as if she would cry. She refused to permit herself the weakness.

"Stefan! Dammit! Just come out and talk to me, please!" Her voice rose to a higher pitch the more frantic she became.

There was a theatrical sigh from the dark recess of the cave.

"Oh, for the love of God, Stefan, go over there and get her to shut up, I am trying to get some sleep!"

There was nothing.

"Stefan!" Elena took a tentative step towards the invisible barrier that separated them.

"GO AWAY!" Katherine was losing the modicum of patience she possessed.

For a moment Elena thought of threatening to go in the entrance, of forcing him to see her, but then, she had the feeling that she had pushed her luck enough for one day. Besides, he was only doing this for her good, right? This would not be the first time he had tried to cut himself off from her to protect her.

That was it, right?

"Fine then, I cannot force you to see me, but I know you are there and you have to hear me. Stefan. I am going to work with Bonnie; we will find a way to get you out of this. I know it is hard I, I will be fine, I love you Stefan."

There was a gagging sound from back as Katherine expressed her displeasure.

" Stefan?"

Silence. She willed him to come speak to her with all her might, but the tomb was still.

"Okay, Fine then. Good night, Stefan."

She paused, holding her breath, counting seconds under her breath, when she got to twenty she exhaled; she was not going to get anything out of him tonight.

She turned and ascended the stairs stumbling over the uneven stones, it was late, or early, and she was tired, so tired, if the ground had not been wet from last night's rain and if it had not been quite as cold, she might have considered sleeping in entrance to the tomb. Not that that was morbid or anything, she thought to herself sarcastically. Sleeping in a tomb, normal right? Others did that… If they were seriously disturbed or something, or, if their boyfriend was trapped inside of one by a witches curse.

Then a moment of weariness overcoming her distaste of the damp ground she sank down on the top step of the entrance. What did all of this accomplish, why the running and elaborate ruses? She was tired of running, all the elaborate games of strategy that Damon kept coming up with.

That was all this was to him, wasn't it? A diversion, something to pass the time that weighed so heavily on him. A thrilling game of epic proportions, only it was her life that was the pawn, being pushed back and forwards, this way and that.

She pulled her knees up to her chin and hugged them tightly. She was tired; she could feel her energy level decreasing.

She was not ready to face the long cold walk back to her home. In fact she did not want to be there at all for that meant dealing with her brother.

She wished that she had her diary with her. It always helped her to calm down her thoughts on paper. Sometimes she could feel a need to capture things that she saw and put them in writing, a color, or a word, maybe a thought, would inspire her and she had to put it down, develop it into a idea and then she had the need to write it, had to write it.

She closed her eyes, pretending that she was going to compose an entry into her diary.

Dear diary, today has been terrible, my idea didn't work out well at all. Instead of being my ally, Rose betrayed me to Damon after I had reached out to Klaus. He came to take me back; I have never seen him in such a rage, not even when he killed Jeremy. I refused and I thought for a moment he might kill me… which would've been ironic you know, since he had come to try and keep me safe from Klaus.

Then Elijah came I was certain I was dead, but then, just like that, he vanished… He saw me, but just ignored me.

I had to ride back with Damon. Long and tense, let's just leave it at that.

Then when I got home, I got the news. I had forced a chain of events by my actions that lead to Stefan being trapped in the tomb with Katherine. All to save my silly, stupid, brave brother from her.

But now he is lost to me, maybe forever.

I fought Damon when he tried to stop me from seeing Stefan, and now Stefan refuses to speak to me, which brings me to why I am here, composing this in my imaginary diary, on the entry steps to the tomb.

I feel completely lost, alone. I'm furious with Jeremy right now; I don't even think that I can stand to see him.

What am I to do? Where do I go? Stefan? Where is Stefan? I need him. Why won't he just come out and talk to me instead of hiding from me?

Elena's eye's fluttered as the day took its toll on her. Her thoughts grew fuzzy and she struggled to keep awake.

Her entire body was achy, her head heavy.

She leaned her head against the cold stone of the side of the crumbling wall. It smelled heavily of decay, old moss and rotting wood. There was a light zephyr of stale air eddying up from the cavern below. Not a pleasant place to sleep at all, but Elena wanted to stay as close to Stefan as she could, and she was too exhausted to walk back to the house.

She dozed.

She woke to being prodded none too gently by a boot.

"Wakey, wakey!" She squinted around the darkness.

"Who?" her voice was rough, throat sore from the cold air.

"Come on, get up." Damon's voice was flat. He held out his hand to her, offering to assist her to her feet.

She ignored it and proceeded to pull herself up on her own. Damon shrugged.

"What are you doing here?"

"Why are you sleeping at the entrance of a church cellar?" he countered.

"I'm not in the mood for games tonight Damon." Elena said wearily, "Just tell me what you want."

"I'm here to pick you up and take you home, I was giving you time to finish sulking and get yourself together. Come on, let's go."

Elena narrowed her eyes, resenting the presumption in his tone.

"And what? If I don't are you going to throw me over your shoulder like some hairy Neanderthal?"

He narrowed his eyes back at her, "If necessary, yes, that is a definite option."

"I think I'd rather stay here for a while."

"Well, I think you should come home with me, so that's what you are going to do."

"Always so sure of yourself, I'm not going Damon, not right now you need to accept that I am not always your pawn to be moved about with no regard. Now go on back and leave me alone."

There was a moments pause, if it had been anyone other than Damon she would have thought the person trying to keep their temper.

"Elena, I know you think your little world is coming apart and you are the only one in the world that is having problems, but believe me, others are affected too. How bad do you think you are making my brother feel by sitting vigil out here? Now come on, you look like a Smurf, so unless you think Stefan would like blue girl friend you need to get warmed up."

"I'm not cold!" muttered Elena stubbornly.

"Oh, that's good Elena," Damon snickered with false amusement.

"Seriously, my brother is a better liar than you. And he sucks."

"Is this funny to you, Damon? Is all this just a joke, more fuel for your sarcasm and one liners?"

"A. My brother being trapped with Katherine isn't a joke. And B. I don't need fuel for my devastating wit; it's a natural talent. Now, get up and come on. I'm not going to stand here arguing with you all night."

Elena gave in and started walking towards the car, not because Damon had bullied her into it, but because she suddenly felt worn and thin, like a frayed rubber band that was about to snap. But Damon was not aware of her reason; he just assumed that his arguments had won her over. He walked beside her, a bounce in his step, his mercurial attitude restored. He thought about starting a conversation, but then decided against it. Elena did not exactly look like a stimulating sparring partner at the moment.

They traveled the whole way back to her house in silence. When Damon parked he got out and walked around to her side of the door to escort her to the door, again he offered his hand but Elena again ignored it. She had a slightly petulant look on her face, but she did not object as he opened the door to her house. He turned his head inquiringly as she passed, taking a quick whiff of her sent, it was wrong, soured almost, he involuntarily wrinkled his nose as she went by. Elena noticed the change of expression on his face

She glared at him, "I'm sorry I have been in a sweaty car all day, I'm going to take a shower when I get upstairs. Not all of us can go all day and never break a sweat." She said acidly.

"Hey, I never said anything." He paused, it was not sweat, it was something else, "Are you feeling alright?"

"Oh yes, never better" Her tone was glacial.

Damon took a breath displaying an unwonted amount of self-control.

"I will be watching outside tonight. Get some sleep."

His voice was light but his tone warned her against trying to sneak past him to visit Stefan. She knew that, and they both knew that she knew.

She nodded and shut the door.

As she was at the top step Jeremy opened his door, he had been waiting up.

"Elena… I am SO sorry…"

Elena looked at her brother, "Jeremy, just… don't, Okay? Not tonight."

He nodded dejectedly and stepped back in his room. Elena went into her room, then the bathroom. She turned on the faucet and ran a very warm bath, then slipped off her dirty creased clothes and into the water. Involuntarily, her eyes teared up, the bath salts she had always used used were the ones Stefan made her, the smell of vervain made it impossible not to think of him. She picked a bubble bath instead watching as they filled the tub, then with a sigh she removed her locket, staring at it dangling from her fingers swinging back and forth. Then she set it on the side of the tub and sank up to her neck in the water.

But making it all worse was the certainty that as bad as things were now, despite all that had happened to her, there was a storm on the horizon that was waiting to consume her, and it would make her present suffering inconsequential by comparison.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

By Ivycat

Warnings; Not suitable for children, non-con, violence, language, adult situations.

 

When Elena awoke she was chilled to the bone. She looked around her in groggy disorientation. There was a splashing sound and as she looked down she saw she was in the tub. Had she really fallen asleep in here? That was alarming. She could have drowned. Shaking her head at the notion she hastily got out of the now ice cold water, shivering. She wrapped herself in a towel and hurried into her bed, needing to get warm as soon as possible.

As she lay in the bed the past events played before her, but the one that kept incessantly replaying was the cold empty tomb, her calling and calling to Stefan, and his stubborn refusal to respond.

She tossed in bed angrily; sleep refusing to come despite her weariness. Frustrated she sat up, then went to her dresser and pulled out a pair of pajamas and put them on. Something was wrong, there was an anxiety washing over her that she could not place, her chest tightened in response, she made up her mind to go down and fix a cup of tea to try and relax, though maybe not vervain tea, she thought wryly to herself.

She quietly went down the steps and entered the kitchen; she filled the kettle and sat down waiting for the water to heat.

There, that was it. The anxiety, the tightness in her chest, the feelings of foreboding, it was her old enemy from childhood, asthma.

A feeling of relief washed over her, the whole feeling of foreboding was explained, it was no dire supernatural precognition, it was a purely physical reaction to an illness. Hyper responses of her fight-or-flight instinct to the respiratory constriction.

That was good; the tea would help with that. Idly she wondered if she even knew where her inhaler was anymore, she had not had to use it in years. In fact, she had thought she was over it, had hoped that her days suffering from the most un-cool of illnesses was over, She had not even had an attack for over two years, but such a cure it seemed was not her luck.

There was a sudden eruption of impatient whistling from behind her signaled that her water was ready. She poured a cup, and then carried it up to her room, settling herself into her bed and pulling a warm blanket over her, sipping the tea, enjoying the warmth of the warm soothing tea on her sore throat. She was probably going to get some kind of a cold from her caper tonight; she had the achy sluggish feeling that was the usual herald. She sighed in irritation; a cold was one thing she did not need. Then finishing the tea, she put the cup on the night stand and slipped under her covers again. This time, aided by the tea, she slipped into an uneasy sleep.

 

It was hard to breathe; the air was dense, thick with her carbon dioxide. There was a vise on her head that made thinking hard. This was just a dream. She had to wake up. "Come on, Elena", she exhorted herself "WAKE UP!"

But awakening from her dream was even more disorienting, she was cramped, her limbs twisted in unnatural positions that caused jolts of pain to soot through her at every bump.

She was surrounded with the smell of old rubber and gasoline, and the heavy metallic odor of motor oil.

Her eyes widened in the darkness as her position dawned on her.

No, no no, no! She was trapped in what was unmistakably the trunk of a car. The road noise and flashing red lights from the driver applying the brakes to the vehicle all pointed to that conclusion.

It had all been real, the stuffy air, the ferocious head-ache, not a dream, very, very, real. How had she gotten here? How had she been moved from her room without being awakened?

"Hey!" Elena started yelling, kicking at the back seat. Hoping to attract attention from a passerby or driver. Her abductor must have heard her, for suddenly the car started swerving erratically, sending her rolling around in the trunk. She braced herself as well as she could, then she remembered, wasn't there an emergency release on all the trunks now days? Once the car had stopped careening around, she wriggled around till her hands were able to grasp at the area where the latch would have been. There was nothing there; it must have been removed already. The rough ridges of a file were very noticeable as she ran her fingers over where it should have been.

"Argh!" Elena cried out in frustration, she tried resuming her efforts to kick down the back seat. Suddenly the car swerved and fishtailed onto a dirt road, the gravel pinged and ricochet of the under carriage with a staccato sound.

Elena kept kicking at the seat, but nothing happened. She felt around for her phone, but then remembered that it was probably still sitting on the bed side table. Her pajamas did not have any pockets so there was no chance that her phone had gotten taken with her.

Her fear escalated, to near panic, her breaths coming in quick gasps, she could feel the muscles in her chest slowly tightening, her lungs aching and burning as she struggled for air. This was not good; she knew she had to calm herself down. She could not let the fear take her.

She forced her mind to other things, the family trip to Disney Land, how at four Jeremy had cried and refused to go near any of the costumed characters, how he howled when their mother had tried to take him near for a photo shoot. She knew he still got the chills whenever he heard Donald Ducks quacky voice. She smiled, she had never ever let on that she knew he was still terrified of a cartoon duck. She thought of Stefan, of the moments of happiness she had with him, the time he had taken her to the top of the Ferris wheel, she focused on the peace of those memories, and in response she could feel a slight relaxation in the constriction of her lungs. But her forced tranquility did not last long as her mind kept rapidly returning to the questions of who had abducted her and why. Was it one of Klaus's minions? Elijah? Who was after her now? Did Damon and the others know where she was? Did they even know she was missing yet? How long had she been out? The questions kept piling up on themselves, but there was never any answer to them.

As near as she could tell it was about twenty minutes later that the car started to slow down. It then turned onto an even bumpier road, and then it stopped. Elena grew still, ears straining to hear what was happening. The driver slammed the door and walked around to the trunk and she heard the snap of the automatic trunk opener as it was remotely unlocked. Elena instantly sat up, alert, every sense tuned to finding a means of escape.

It was very dark out, there was no moon and Elena could not see her abductor clearly, only a vague shadow of a person.

"Who are you?" She asked, struggling to keep her voice even.

There was no response, she was gripped firmly from behind, under her arms, being hauled out of the trunk none too gently. She gasped as her bare feet made contact with the icy ground.

"What do you want?" She asked, trying once again to elicit a response from her abductor.

There was still no answer, she looked around, there were no lights, no buildings that she could see, nowhere to run and hide The darkness surrounded her, almost seeming to reach out and embrace her in its velvety arms.

Then she was roughly dragged, backwards, her heels scraping painfully on the rocks on the road. She struggled and writhed to escape his grasp, but she was unable to break free. She was now certain that it was a vampire who had her; no human could have managed to have not been thrown off balance by her thrashing, and the arms that restrained her were cold, too cold for a human.

Then, her arms were yanked above her head and a rope secured around her wrist. Elena yelped in pain as the rope bit down hard on her skin. Then there was a sudden tug that pulled her all but off her feet, only leaving her toes scraping the ground, Elena could feel the rough scraping of bark against her back, with a chilling realization it hit her that she had been strung up in a tree.

"Who are you? What do you want?" She tried again. Her voice rising in fear.

Then, for the first time her captor spoke.

"Who I am is irrelevant, and as far as what I want, it is quite simple, I want to pay back an old, very old score, and you, human, are the surest means to that end."

His voice was well modulated, with a tinge of British accent. Smooth, low, not at all threatening as one would have expected from a sinister kidnapper.

"What? Who?" Elena was confused. "I do not understand."

"There's not to question why, there's but to do or die."

Elena shook her head; he was not making any sense. She knew it was poetry, and that she should have read it in school, but could not place it.

"Please." She tried another tack, "Whatever you want, this can not the best way to accomplish it. Can't we talk about it?"

There was no response to her plea. She twisted around, swinging on the chain she was suspended from, looking about for her abductor. She still could not see anything in the blackness.

Then her head was snapped to the side as a hand made contact with her face, giving off a vicious sounding snap.

She gave a sharp cry of surprise and pain. The attack was totally unexpected, and was made even more disorienting by the fact that that she could not see anything.

But the pain did not stop there, other blows joined in quick succession she was being struck with a hard wooden object, Elena writhing and screaming following each one as she experienced the agony of her bones giving way and fracturing from the blows, her soft tissue swelling from the abuse. The brutal attack only came to an end when there was a splintering sound, followed by cursing, the bat had broken.

Elena used the respite to catch her breath, and noticed her face was wet with tears.

Then there came the sound that sent chills of terror down her back. An ordinary, everyday sound that one heard almost every day, one that did not usually incite fear and terror in her.

The sharp snap of a popped button and the gliding, metallic sound of a zipper being lowered.

Her brain tripped into overdrive, panic at the wheel.

But it seemed as if her body was frozen, immobile, she tried to breathe, but it seemed as if in her panic she had forgotten how. She felt a searing pain from her side, her body protesting the lack of oxygen.

She felt her clothes being pulled off her, felt the burn of the fabric as it was ripped violently across her skin. She could tell she was screaming, but her voice was so hoarse it was almost unrecognizable as her own.

Then, nothingness, nothing except for a cold, tense realization of the inevitable. But mercifully, all emotion seemed to be suspended, as if someone had hit a 'pause' button inside her mind.

It seemed to her that the world around her still kept time, but she was frozen, her last thoughts and emotions were of that time bubble she was suspended in. She held herself tense for a moment, fearing that real time would ensue, that it might start up, that she would have to resume feeling again. But it did not.

From the frosted glass that protected her mind she knew she was being raped. Her mind distantly registered the cold, angry hands on her breasts, the far off agony of her neck being torn into and mauled the excruciating pain of having her blood drawn against her will.

Then came the final humiliation, the humiliation of feeling her body taken, used as another's plaything. The burning pain, the unrelenting agony as he thrust himself in and out, in and out, that part of the nightmare seemed to go on for hours. Then mercifully the loss of blood and pain were enough to release her, to give her temporary reprieve from the hell she was in. Darkness embraced her but this time she welcomed it.

 

The next chapter will be moved up to 'M'. Thank you for your reviews! I hope you like this, it was SO hard to write!


	3. 3

Chapter Three

By Ivycat

How long does a second span? In the time that the physicists have measured, it is defined as the oscillations of a caesium atom. But for Elena it became a moment that stretched into infinity. And a infinite amount of pain was conducted in an infinite measurement of time.

She was not sure how long she had been unconscious, she was aware of excruciating pain in her arms; her full body weight had been suspended by her arms while she was unconscious. She gave a muffled groan and started kicking her feet, desperate to find purchase, traction to be able to stand, if only on her toes.

At first she was not able to do more than scuff the ground with her toes, but then, after a few agonizing seconds she was finally able to relieve the unrelenting pressure on her arms. She looked around; there was nothing around except the eternal blackness.

She felt a chill, no, it was so much more than that, she was almost numb with cold, then as she felt the icy breeze eddying around her she realized that she was stripped of all her clothes. She began to shiver, the intense cold blurring into pain, pain that soon coalesced into white, everything became white surrounded by sparkles.

She did not realize it was snowing.

Then, there was the heavy sound of a vehicle approaching. She began to try and shout, but her voice was diminished to a raspy whisper.

Then the tones of her abductor, irritated.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"Is she alive? Is she hurt?" The new voice was frantic.  
"I called but there's no reception in this god-forsaken place. Is she alive?" The voice was panting and nervous

"More or less, what is wrong? Why have you come?" Her captor was sharp and impatient.

"Did you hurt her? Oh, god, tell me she'll live."

Her captor replied something, his voice fading into the wind.

"We got it all wrong, why Elijah wanted her. She was to be given to Klaus." The voice was growing shriller and more panicked as he talked.

"What the FUCK! Why did you not tell me this before?" The fear was evident in his voice.

"I,I didn't know, but you see, its not all bad. You only raped her right? She's still alive?"

"Are you serious? Do you think that KLAUS will be a good sport about it? 'Oh, of course I hold no hard feelings, you were only trying to score off Elijah when you raped the girl I was after. It's all good man!' Not bloody likely, is it now? Oh god, we are dead, we are totally dead, screwed, done, finites."

No, no, no, calm down, listen to me. He wants her for a spell; she's the key, a Petrova Doppelganger. With her Klaus can break the spell of the sun and moon.

We could all be day walkers! OK, think, we can fix this. She is just hurt right? So we just give her some blood, compel her, and hey presto, nothing happened. We can do this, we just throw this one back in the sea and let Klaus catch her. No one has to know we were here. It's all good."

She was aware that if she had any feelings left she would have been enraged at the uselessness, the senselessness of it all. It was a mistake, this was all a mistake. She was aware that the vampires were approaching her. She twisted and writhed attempting to get away.

The unknown one paused. "You'd better do it, you've fed more recently, I don't think I could do it without killing her."

There was a furious tumult in her mind as she struggled to come to grips with what was happening. Tried desperately to clear the fog in her mind, but she could not.

Then, an icy hand was on her, she jerked in response.

 

I am sorry this was short. I got a little low because of a reviewer comment and lost my inspiration. So here you go, hope you like it.


	4. 4

Chapter 4

By Ivycat

It was hard to breathe; the air was dense, thick with her carbon dioxide. There was a vise on her head that made thinking hard. This was just a dream. She had to wake up. "Come on, Elena", she exhorted herself "WAKE UP!"

Her eyes snapped open. The sun was shining brightly into her window, too brightly, she looked at her clock, it read 9:32 AM. She swung her legs over the bed hastily; she had to get to school! Then she remembered, this was the weekend. That was good, because her throat felt as if she had been gargling nails; school was not a place she wanted to be at the moment. Then, she remembered, something horrible had happened, something that was so bad she did not want to recall it.

What notion could be so black?

Stefan, Stefan was trapped inside the tomb with Katherine. That was it! With a gasp she grabbed her jacket and pulled it over her pajamas, she swiped the keys from the hall table and ran to the car, her hands were shaking so badly that it took three tries to insert the key into the ignition. The third time she was just about to turn on the engine when suddenly she was yanked out of the car, she was pressed backwards bending at an uncomfortable angle, Damon's nose mere millimeters from her own.

"Well, if it is not the little lost sheep? Do you mind telling me where the HELL you have been?" His blue eyes were wide and held hers in a furious stare, the veins in his neck showing prominently. He was livid. Elena strained her head back from his till it almost touched the roof of the car.

"What are you talking about?" She rasped out, and then frowned; her voice was really shot to hell. She cleared her throat uncomfortably. Maybe she should have opted for a scarf as well…

"What am I talking about? I am talking about you pulling your little disappearing act a few nights ago. So help me, Elena, I am going to start following you everywhere, never letting you out of my sight. So what is your story? What harebrained idea did you come up with this time?"

Elena pushed back against him, " Yet again, I have no idea what you are talking about! Get out of my face, Damon; I am going to see Stefan."

"No, you are not. He asked that I keep you away from there. Of course he always was an optimist. But that is beside the point. Damn it Elena! Do you have ANY idea how frantic Jeremy, Bonnie and Alaric have been? Jeremy has been sure that you some how did manage to turn yourself over to Klaus. I almost had to put him under a suicide watch; of course, I noticed that as he never took off his ring he was not quite there yet.

I have been trying to track you down using your little friend's witchy Juju, and believe me when I say I would rather have had an aneurism. Come to think of it, I actually did, several times in fact.

So tell me. Where. Have. You. Been.?" His tone was glacial.

Elena shook her head, "I am not in the mood for your games Damon, get out of my way, I told you I am on my way to see Stefan." He released his grip on her a fraction, but still did not back away.

"You can't." His tone was curt.

Elena scowled,

"Damon, you cannot use this to keep us apart, you know that, I have made it clear, I care for you, but I love Stefan, nothing will ever be able to change that. Now, stop acting like a child and get out of my way, or don't, whatever, you will just regenerate if I run you down in the car."

Damon looked down at her his haughty face unreadable.

"Fine." He clipped his eyes growing dark and hooded, stepping back and letting her straighten up. She slid in the car hastily, putting it into reverse, leaving tire marks beside Damon. He never moved from his spot on the drive way. Oh God, she hurt all over. She must really be coming down with one hell of a bug.

She drove as close to the church as she could, then got out and walked the rest of the way. She paused a moment, steadying herself before she went down to try and get Stefan to talk. Once she was confident that she could remain composed and rational she stepped forward to go down the steps. Her foot would not cross the entrance to the stairs. She frowned, mystified, tried again, but her foot just seemed to become paralyzed when she tried to push it in. She tried her hand; it too would not enter the threshold.

"No!" She raged as she realized what had happened. "No, No, no,no,no!"

Then she turned into the whipping wind and croaked out. "DAMON!"

As hoarse as her voice was he still heard her, and in a few seconds stepped out from behind some trees.

"I told you. I told you that you cannot go in." his blue eyes looked almost pityingly at her.

"Damon, what have you DONE?" Elena gasped out wildly.

"I cannot take credit for this;" his voice was sober for once "it was actually Bonnie's idea. If I did not know better I would think she was sorry for me having to try and keep you out, per Stefan's request. It was HER idea to spell the entrance to you so you could not get in."

"But why? " Tears were threatening to fall. Her voice sounded like a tired child's, "Why can't I see him?"

"Hmm, let me see, sociopathic Doppelganger…? I don't know Elena, Why do YOU think that Stefan would not possibly want you down there?" His tone was belittling.

"But she can't even get out!" Elena snapped out as she stepped forward.

Damon sighed, tired of the debate.

"Look, you probably need to be at school or something, I am sure your friends can't cover for you forever, though, really, I am not so sure it was much of a lie, you are clearly sick, and you smell the least appetizing I have ever known you to be."

"I am fine, Damon, and it is Sunday, no school for those of us to who time actually matters."

"Try Monday." He parried, but his eyebrows lowered and he looked at with concentration, almost bordering on concern.

"No way, stop trying to screw with me." She pulled out her Blackberry and studied the screen.

"Huh?" She did a double take it stated unequivocally that today was indeed Monday. "I don't understand."

She looked up uncertainly at Damon, confused.

"But, where, how?"

"That is what I would like to know." He said, irritation lacing his tone.

"I, I need to get back." She said hoarsely. He nodded curtly and stepped back to let her pass.

"I'll drive." His tone left no room for argument. She nodded and got into the car.

By the time she was halfway back to the house she was shivering spasmodically, her breathing labored and ragged.

Damon kept looking at her in a side long fashion, it was very clear that she was ill. It must be the flu, he had suspected it the night he drove her home. She certainly looked miserable.

It was very apparent that she was under the weather when she got out of the car; Damon almost winced in sympathy for her as she stiffly got out of the car. He turned off the ignition and got out.

She looked at him and scowled crossly, "What, decided that you were not going to continue home?"

He looked at her in amusement, "I was driving your car, remember?"

She looked chagrined for a moment, and then shrugged. "I do not think I feel very well, I am going to go to bed."

"I think that is one of the best ideas I have heard from you in a while. I will be down-stairs making you some chicken noodle soup and hot tea."

Elena shook her head. "I am fine, I do not really need a watch dog, I just want to crawl in bed and die."

"Seriously? You went missing, you claim to have no idea what happened, now you are sick… sorry, I think I am sticking around for a while. Just go on back to bed; you won't even know I am here! After all, I am just your friendly neighborhood German Shepherd." He muttered the last under his breath not intending her to hear. Elena heard his remark, and the resentment in his tone. "Stop being so bitter. I never asked you to stay."

He turned his tone suddenly light and mocking. "But I do bitter so well!"

"Whatever." She turned on her heel and went up the stairs without a second look.

She slid in bed shivering miserably. Thankfully she soon drifted off into sleep, and when Damon knocked on her door to let her know the soup was ready she was sound asleep. He cracked the door open a fraction and saw she was dead to the world. He decided not to wake her and went down the stairs to read.

It was dark, so dark. She was terrified; she was running from something, something terrifying and enormous. She was screaming, or rather, trying to, but could not make a sound. Then she was pinned down, a terrible weight on her chest, she was suffocating, she could not breathe…

Elena woke in a cold sweat, sticky and uncomfortable, then she realized that the reason her dream had seemed so immediate and real was that, in part, it was true.

She could not breathe; she wheezed and struggled for air, fighting the asthma, nothing mattered, only breathing mattered. As she lay there the universe folded in on itself, there was only her and her need for the next breath in it, all else was trivial and unimportant.

Her chest began to burn and her lungs ached with the strain, she struggled with sitting up, this was serious, she had to get help, soon. She reached for the phone, but knocked it down off the night stand, she swore softly, and reached for it again. Before she could pick it up Damon was retrieving it. He took a grip on her shoulder and pushed her till she was in a sitting position again.

"Da,da, Damon", she wheezed out, grateful for his appearance.

"Whoa, you do not sound so good." He turned his eyes on her, scanning her in concern.

"Need air…"

Damon looked at a loss. He was not sure what to do, should he get her to a hospital? Did he have the time? Her lips were turning a bluish purple, which was not good. He quickly dialed Bonnie's number and sent a SOS. That done, he reached over to the girl who was struggling so hard to keep breathing.

"Elena, take off your necklace." she tried to do as he ordered, but her hands were starting to tremble and become clumsy. It was then that Damon realized that she was not wearing it. It would have been something for him to wonder about, if he had the time.

He gripped her shoulders, "Elena, look at me." Dully she did as he ordered.

"All right, that's it; there is a good girl…" His eyes darkened as he locked eyes on hers. "You are going to completely relax, ok, that's it. Now, take deep breaths, no, no, don't tense up, stay relaxed. That's it, deep slow breaths. You can do it." He smiled as he saw that his compelling her was having some effect. Her breathing slowed from the shallow puffs to a more normal, even rhythm. When he felt that she had recovered enough from her attack he dropped eye contact.

"Thanks." Elena said. Damon curtly nodded as he got back to his feet. "Where is your medicine for that?"

She shook her head, "I am not sure, I have not needed it for so long that I kind of lost track of it, I am not even sure if it is good anymore."

He sighed impatiently, "Elena, that is just careless, you know you have a potentially life threatening condition, yet you cannot be bothered to be responsible enough to keep the medication with you?"

His tone stung her, but she did have to admit he had a point. But being Elena she could not resist the temptation to fire back at him.

"What is this? Damon, the self-serving psychopath… concerned? For a Human? Careful… others will think you …have gone soft. Huh, tough guy?" The words lost much of their sting due to her still frequently pausing for breath.

Damon paused, and then looked up at her. For a moment she was shocked at the look in his eyes. She had expected, anger, sarcasm, a witty repartee, but instead he looked, almost vulnerable.

"You get used to it you know, the blood, the suffering, the pain, it becomes normal. So if you think of it, I am not actually as much of a monster as one thinks at first, I am simply a product of abnormal circumstances." His voice was soft. Then, suddenly, he was back to himself. "OK, if you think you will be alright I will go to the store and pick up some of the medication you need."

"You need a prescription for it, Damon." Elena informed him as he made for the door.

"You might, but I am Damon, the self-serving psychopath, I do not need a prescription. Bye now!" And just like that he was gone.


	5. 5

Rape Chapter 5

By Ivycat

Elena stayed in her bed, not caring to bring on another episode. She had not been there long when Bonnie came into her room.

"Elena! Where've you been? What happened? Damon texted a SOS but didn't say what was goin' on." She sat on the bed, "you don't look so good, got a cold or something? Elena rolled her neck, "Yeah, I thing I've got the flu. And the Asthma attack didn't help either." Her voice was stuffy from the congestion

"Ouch" Bonnie replied, "that's no good, I didn't know you still had problems with that now."

"So what happened? Where were you, why'd you just run off like that?"

Elena took a breath, then looked up and met the eyes of her friend. "I don't know Bonnie, I just don't know. I did not run off though. Damon said that I disappeared for a day, and I'm missing a day, but how do I find out what happened in those missing hours? Where was I? What happened? Who did it? So many questions, Bonnie, and never any answers to them.

And I hurt all over; I feel like I am dying, I jus' wanna sleep." Elena looked at Bonnie pitifully, her eyes ringed and dark.

"I know," Bonnie put her arm around her. "You just rest and I'll be here, I've got Grams book with me, maybe I can find something to help you feel better, or even reverse the amnesia."

Elena nodded and once more slid into her bed, and Bonnie sat in the chair lost deep in the book. The sunlight stretched and grew more golden as it entered the room, Elena was sleeping fitfully, Bonnie was lost in the pages of spells from times past.

Damon had gotten the inhaler with no problems of course. He went directly to Elena's house to deliver it.

He did briefly think of going to see Stefan, but decided that he did not want to leave Elena alone as long as he could help it. True Bonnie was with her, but at best she was only 'semi-competent' not that he intended for her to find out that he thought of her as that. As she had pointed out very effectively, she was capable enough to take him down whenever she had the whim. No, better to stay on her good side, if she even had one for vampires, which was questionable.

He noticed that Jenna was not at home yet, that would make his coming even easier. He could use easy after the past few days.

It had not escaped him that almost as soon as he had given his word to Stefan to keep Elena safe she had disappeared.

It made him furious. First that he had been almost forced to pledge his word to keep her safe. Curse him! Stefan knew that Elena was the one person that he, Damon, would die to protect. And second, that no sooner than he gave his word to keep her safe she disappeared, making his promise as empty and hollow as his soul.

Elena was really a trying individual. She was moping, self-absorbed and inclined to melodramatic out bursts. Not to mention she was completely wrong in her choice of brothers. There was cool, handsome, debonair and charming, then there was, well, Stefan. The only thing there was to recommend Stefan was that he too was moping, and he had the whole, 'Holier-than-thou' thing down to a 'T'.

But enough of this, the problem at hand was of the time Elena had been missing. Just exactly what had happened to Elena during the time she was missing? Who had taken her? Why? It could be a consequence of her deliberately exposing herself to the underworld as a Petrova Doppelganger. Stupid, stupid CHILD! She had no idea the danger that she had put herself in by announcing herself. Sure, the silly thing probably did feel as if that she knew all about the underworld since she had dated a vampire and been exposed to certain elements of the supernatural. She probably thought that she had seen so much loss and heart-ache that there was nothing more to hurt her. How wrong she was. Sure, he had killed a few of her friends incidentally along the way, that was one of the side effects of being around him, but what she did not know was that BOTH brothers had actually been trying to shelter her from the supernatural realm. Had been trying very hard in fact. And the presumptuous girl actually thought he was the monster! He gave a short barking laugh, his eyes hard. She had no idea what most vampires were really like. If he had really been a monster among his kind he would have laid the town waste by now. There would have been wholesale slaughter of the humans, covered by a wild fire, or some other occurrence. But no, he kept a low profile like his brother, blended with the town. It had been a form of amusement to see how suspiciously Stefan had regarded him. His brother was almost frantic at first trying to get to the bottom of what he was up to. And in fact, it had been nothing more sinister than boredom; he wanted to try the novelty of being on the straight and narrow like his brother. The fact that Elena was almost identical to Katherine was, interesting, but not much more than that.

He scowled and rubbed his neck in frustration, He could hear the breathing of the two girls up stairs, and the occasional rustle of the heavy leaves of the book that Bonnie was perusing, no doubt trying to find some way to uncover what had happened to Elena during the missing day.

She just did not get up and walk away, then reappear back in her bed a day later alone and unaided. So she had to have been abducted, so now the question was, by whom? If it was a vampire after the doppelganger, why return her? That made no sense at all, it was as illogical as Elijah killing the two vampires and leaving the two of them untouched.

But who would take her then put her back unharmed? A school prank could not leave her with any memory. There was just no logic to this. Anyone who wanted her would have no motive to bring her back.

He huffed impatiently. It seemed one of the only things to do was rely on Bonnie to somehow unravel this mystery.

His ears picked up the quick light steps of Caroline as she hurried up the walk, which meant that school was over and she was here to see about her friend.

He opened the door for her before she rang the door bell.

Caroline got directly to the point.

"She's here?" He nodded and jerked his head towards the stairs. "Asleep. Bonnie is with her."

She looked at him for a moment before giving an impatient movement of her shoulders and hands.

"Well?" her tone was annoyed.

"Well what?" He goaded, knowing full well of her question, but sidestepping the unpleasantness of admitting he had no idea what had happened.

"You know very well 'what'. What happened, where was she? Is she ok? When did she get back? How is she? Who found her?"

Damon raised his eyes sardonically. "Wow, I'm impressed, still going out for the journalism major?"

She looked at him blankly. "What are you talking about? I'm asking about Elena."

"You know, the five 'H's' or 'W's', who, what, when… Oh, never mind." He rolled his eyes. "She got home sometime in the night, I came as she was trying to drive over to see Stefan, she seemed to have no idea that she had lost a day. Had no idea she had been gone. She seems fine, other than having a cold or the flu, oh, and having some kind of respiratory attack that nearly killed her. She's asleep right now, why don't you go up and see if the witch has found any way to help us find out what happened?"

Caroline's eyes gleamed maliciously for a moment, "Careful, someone might think you are scared of Bonnie."

He lifted his chin and stared her down, "I'm NOT scared of her, I just get the impression that she does not like me that much."

Caroline gave a mock gasp, "Not like you? You can't be right about that!" Then she gave a grin over her shoulder as she went up the stairs.

When she got up the stairs she softly opened the door and slipped in the room.

Bonnie looked up and smiled at her as she sat on the window seat.

"Damon wants to know if you found anything to help us figure out where Elena has been." She softly whispered.

Bonnie shook her head.

"No, but I think I can now cure warts, make a dry cow have milk and keep potato bugs off a garden."

"That's no help." Observed Caroline flatly.

"Oh, gee, really? I don't think I knew that yet, thank you!" Bonnie snipped, irritated at the stating of the obvious.

"Well, I'm just saying…" Caroline defended.

Bonnie shook her head,

"Nothing I read seems even close to helping us find out what happened."

Caroline shrugged,

"Well, why don't you hypnotize her?"

Bonnie was torn between looking scornful and amused.

"I don't even know how to do that!"

"Yeah, but I could compel her to remember, that's sort of like being hypnotized."

Bonnie looked thoughtful, "But it's pretty clear that a vampire abducted her, there is no other way that she could have lost her memory like that, so can she even be 'de-compelled'? Wouldn't it like, cancel each other out?"

"I don't know…" Caroline looked uncertain.

"Let's try it." A new voice broke in on the conversation.

Both girls jerked around and stared at Elena.

She looked sleep bleared and pale, but there was a glint of the iron resolution in her eyes that both friends recognized.

"I'm serious." Elena insisted. "If I've lost a day I wanna know what the hell happened. We could at least try. I mean, what's the worst that could happen?

"Are you sure?" Bonnie demurred. Elena sighed impatiently, "Yes I am sure, come on, let's get this over with."

"Ok," Caroline chirruped as she approached the bed and sat down. "Ok, take off any vervain you have on you. Now look at me, her eyes widened a fraction as she looked into Elena's eyes. "Umm, ok. What is your name?" Bonnie made a "what the hell?" look at Caroline who waved her off impatiently.

"Elena answered, "Elena Gilbert"

Caroline smiled happily , "Now, tell me what happened to Shugi my sock monkey when we were in third grade. Did you take it?"

"No, Jeremy did, he was mad at you for telling on him so he took him and went to the lake floating boats, Shugi 's boat flipped and he was lost. I was so mad at him for that, especially after you began to blame me, but I promised him I would not tell…"

Bonnie broke in, "Come on Caroline, you can't just do that to her! We are only supposed to be finding about what happened to her, get back to it or I will call it all off! I mean it!" Caroline sighed,  
"Whatever, I was just trying to make sure it was going to work. Ok, now Elena, you are going to remember what happened the night you went missing. What happened?"

Elena sat still her face blank. Bonnie and Caroline looked at each other, then Elena spoke. "I am thinking of Jeremy, how he was terrified of all the costumed figures at Disney land. I have never let him know that I know he is terrified of Donald Duck still…" She stopped.

Caroline looked puzzled. "That's it? Donald Duck?"

Bonnie shushed her, "Ask her where she is? Is she in danger? Who does she see?"

Caroline leaned closer, "Elena, where are you? Do you feel afraid? Do you see any people?"

Elena wrinkled her brow, seeming to have some internal difficulty over this, then, "Dark, night. There is always one danger that you cannot out run, the danger from within."

That was all they were able to get from her, and it was no help at in discovering what had happened. They were back to trying to find something in Bonnie's book that could help. They decided to not tell Damon that they had attempted to reverse the compulsion; he would likely have been very annoyed that he had been left out of the loop.

Elena decided to try and get up for a while; she pulled out a pair of gray sweats and put her hair in a pony tail. This was not her usual standard of dressing, but somehow it seemed comforting, so she went with it.

She took some cold medicine and came down the stairs. There was already a meeting going on. Alaric, Damon and Jeremy were already in the living room deep in conversation. It stopped abruptly as she entered the room. She looked around and gave a half smile to everyone. Damon reached into his leather jacket and pulled out an inhaler and tossed it towards her. Instinctively she ducked and covered her face with her hands. "Wow, Damon, my sister really doesn't trust your throwing, does she?" Jeremy laughed.

"My throwing is perfect, thank you." Damon retorted, but he kept his eye locked on Elena with a strange look.

Elena bent to pick up the inhaler, and then sat down on the couch. There was complete silence as all eyes were on Elena. She could not take the silent scrutiny any longer.

"I am going to make some tea, anybody else want something?" There was a chorus of "No's" all around so she stepped away, glad to be out from under the microscope.

It was when she was pouring the tea that it happened. Alaric walked in to get some water, as he was walking past he put a friendly hand on her shoulder, "I'm glad you are ok, El…" There was nothing that was remotely threatening in his touch or mannerism, but she flinched and dropped the cup, splashing scalding hot tea over her legs.

"Hey!" He exclaimed. "I am so sorry; I did not mean to startle you!" But it was too late Elena had fled up the stairs to her bedroom.

This chapter is just setting a few things up for the rest of the story, so I am sorry if you found it slow. The next chapter will be very dark and hard to read. Please do not read if you are easily upset.

A.N. I want to express my gratitude to all my reviewers; you guys are very supportive and encouraging!

A few of you have been good enough to point out that I need to use contractions more, I hope you will see a marked improvement in my former non-use of them in this chapter! (I also went back and corrected the former chapters)

I know some of you have asked why I do not disable anon reviews, well, this may be weird, but I strongly believe everyone has a right to their opinion, and I have a good many positive anon reviews, and one that is a honest expression of their feelings. Everyone deserves a voice, and some would rather be anon, that is fine.

Re: "An honest respectful review" I am sorry if you were adversely affected by the story, My intention was not to offend anyone or sensationalize the subject matter. I did try and be as vigilant as I could in printing warnings so that readers would be aware of the nature of the story. Again, sorry.

There was a misunderstanding where a few of my readers were under the impression that I was not continuing because I was not getting as many reviews as I would have liked. The reverse is actually true, I am humbled and overwhelmed by the response to this story, I really have never gotten this amount of reviews per chapter before! I was writing an apology for the chapter being shorter than usual, saying I had lost my Muse in response to a vitriolic reviewer. But it is all good now, and will be continuing with the story.

Ok, a few responses to readers. Yes, I am German and proud of it! So this is being written in a second language (And in my opinion, one that is so WONDERFUL for writers, so many wonderful adjectives, so descriptive!)

Was Elena compelled into amnesia about the events when she was taken? Yes. More about that in the coming chapter.

As always, I welcome your feedback and opinions. Happy Reading!


	6. Whisper in the dark

TV Shows » Vampire Diaries » Rape  
Author: Ivycat   
Rated: M - English - Hurt/Comfort/Suspense -

 

Elena's abrupt departure ended the impromptu gathering, Caroline left to go home, and Alaric went to join Jenna at a restaurant for their date. This left only Bonnie and Damon with Elena, Bonnie went up to talk to her, but when she knocked on the door Elena was sitting on her bed looking calm and composed, Bonnie looked at her cautiously.

"You want to tell me what that was all about?" Elena looked up indifferently, "I am not sure, I just knew all of the sudden that I had to get away, out of the kitchen. Don't read too much into it, I'm fine." She smiled reassuringly at Bonnie. Bonnie looked uncertainly at her, but had no grounds to push her further. She changed the subject.

"I think I may have something to help you get over your cold, can I try it?"

Elena gave her a 'Duh!' look, and then said,"Sure, I'm up for anything that will help me feel better."

Bonnie smiled at her uncertainly, "Ok, well, here goes, I can't promise anything." Elena threw herself back on her bed with a groan. "As long as I don't have to dance around naked I'll try it."

"Did I hear something about people dancing around naked? I think I want in on that!"

Bonnie rolled her eyes at Damon as he strolled in.

"Gee, Damon, ever heard of knocking?"

But Elena's reaction was the one Damon was focused on. In a moment she was on her feet and took one stride towards him, her face was contorted with fury. Then out of nowhere she threw a round house punch directly at his sculpted jaw. Damon never even stepped back; he simply blocked the hit by grabbing her arm below the wrist with all the concern of brushing off a fly.

He stared down at her with his dark eyebrows raised in more perplexity than anger, "Want to tell me what that was all about?"His tone was cool and unruffled.

Bonnie was on her feet beside Elena, her hand supporting her under her elbow, squinting at the vampire, ready to take Damon down at the slightest wrong move. She was not sure what her friend was responding to, but she was ready to join in the fight. Never the less, she was concerned and perplexed at Elena's bizarre behavior. She switched her gaze to look at her friend anxiously.

Elena was furious, How dare he come in as if he had the right to enter her room whenever he so wished? It infuriated her; it felt like, like an invasion of her privacy. It was also very threatening, causing her words to have almost as much fear as anger in them.

"How much of a pig are you Damon Salvatore? Does your mind ever get out of the gutter? Who said that you could just waltz in my room at any time with no-never-mind about whose room it actually is? You can't just walk in and out whenever you feel like it! There are such things as boundaries."

Damon raised his eyebrows a fraction more, he knew there was something more to Elena's actions beside him walking in and making his standard off hand, semi-flirtatious comment. Why would she object so strongly? That was his thing, the off hand, sly, flirts. She had rolled her eyes at him almost every time he did it with her, but never before had he seen a reaction of this strength out of her.

She was still glaring at him, as if she had not made up her mind if she was going to throw another punch. Whatever was going on it was probably better figured out away from the witch who was looking very ready to take him on, and he already had a headache, thank you very much.

"Well. I can take a hint, since you ladies prefer to be left alone, I shall oblige." He turned on his heel and walked out of the room, not sparing another glance at his erst-while attacker. He went down to the study, threw himself on the sofa and started to think back over the past few days.

Despite his rage at Elena putting herself out in harm's way, he was very concerned for her. And, he was well aware that if he had not been so worried for her, his mental diatribe about her earlier would not have been as harsh. But then, it was so much better to just be angry all the time, it helped push the annoying, weakening emotions out of its way. He did angry well. Had done it for, well, a very long time with notable success. But now, fear, worry, unease, and concern, all these were crowding on him at once, and it became easier to deal with if he shut down and only exhibited anger.

Damon's form slumped, but it was no use really, he knew it now, all the pretence, the inflaming rhetoric that he used when thinking about Elena. No matter the barriers he would throw up, how angry he tried to make himself be with her, the truth still lay plain and uncompromising. He loved her. He cared for her well-being with a ferocity that surprised him. He wanted to be as close to her as he could, to sit by her bedside and make sure nothing evil approached. To be her last image in the night and the first thing she smiled upon in the day. To be so in love was not something he had every prepared himself for. He had never considered that another beside Katherine could invade him so completely with their very nearness.

And that had not turned out well for him last time. And now, to further conflict mattered he was keeping her safe, not for himself, but for his brother.

Yes, life was a bitch sometimes.

And with that ironic thought, he tossed back some scotch and stretched out on the leather sofa.

Upstairs Bonnie was lighting a candle and preparing for the spell that would help Elena's cold. She might not have found the right spell to unlock her memory of the missing day, but she could at least help to feel better. Everything having been prepared, she beckoned Elena to come sit beside her on the floor.

Elena obeyed, sitting down across from Bonnie, her nose red and face pale, looking quite miserable indeed. Then Bonnie reached out and took her hands, her grip firm and cool. She closed her eyes and began muttering in Latin, the candle flickered then flared to an unnatural brightness. Elena gave a little gasp as she felt a searing heat shoot up her arms and over her body. She instinctively tried to pull away from Bonnie's grip, but Bonnie tightened her hands and continued chanting. Then, suddenly the pressure in her head was gone, her muscles no longer in pain. She opened her eyes and saw Bonnie looking at her with a small satisfied smile.

"Feeling better?"

"Oh my God, Bonnie, you fixed me! I almost feel normal! Thank you! Thank you so much!"

Bonnie smiled broader, "You are welcome, glad it worked. You still need to get a lot of rest and stay hydrated though. I did not cure you, just took most of the symptoms away. It will probably be tomorrow before you are one hundred percent."

Elena nodded as she got off the floor.

"Ok, I will nap before dinner time. Are you staying to eat with us? Please don't leave me here with Damon alone!"

Bonnie shook her head.

"Sorry, I have to get home. But Jeremy will be here soon, so you won't have to be alone, do you want me to stay till he gets home?"

Elena considered a moment, and then shook her head. "No, you go on, I will be fine. I am just going to sleep anyway. Thanks again!"

Bonnie smiled and left the room. On her way out she stopped to tell Damon that Elena was going to take a nap.

He did not even bother looking at her. Or opening his eyes for that matter.

"Uh huh, heard the whole thing. I DO have super hearing you know." He grunted.

"Whatever." Bonnie snapped. Then she left, trying to not slam the door, despite her irritation with Damon.

On the couch, Damon snickered. What would ever become of the teen vocabulary without that one word, 'whatever'? it was so delightfully ubiquitous. His mind wandered for a while as he killed time.

Then, from Elena's room came a sound that made his heart stop. Well, If he had one that is. He bounded up the stairs three at a time.

It was dark and she was consumed with a feeling of complete horror. There was something out there, something evil and it was coming for her, yet she could not run, as desperately as she tried she remained in the same place, her legs thrashing uselessly, almost as if she were suspended in the air.

The blackness was palpable, thick with evil, it was hard to breathe.

The terror grew in intensity, till it overwhelmed her. Shrieks burst from her, great sobbing, shuddering cries that somehow did not sound human. In response the darkness contracted closer to her, she could not see it, but she knew it, she could almost feel the darkness touch her. Then came a chitnous sound, like millions and millions of bugs, climbing over each other, their legs rustling and scraping over their hard carapaces as they swarmed. She knew she must not let them touch her. Must not at any cost let them make contact with her skin. Her cries redoubled in intensity.

Elena's prone figure on the bed did not move, there was no thrashing or tossing of her head side to side on the pillow, like one would expect from one locked in such a dream. Her form was ridged, completely immobile, except for the sobbing shrieks, then there was a faint indication of motion from her bed, deep shudders gripped her frame, she shook till her bed was almost vibrating. Her eyes were still closed, but her face was frozen in a rictus of horror.

Her breath came shorter and shorter as the darkness/evil, pressed ever closer to her. There was the realization that this was not going to end, there was not escape for her. A freezing paralysis of fear took hold of her then in her despair.

Then, there was another element in the thick fear and evil. One that could cut through the scrabbling roaches, the closing dark, the irrational fear. A thin silken thread wafted into the dream, light and ethereal, it was defiantly not belonging to the dream. Elena was vaguely aware of it, but it came closer and closer, the silken threads brushing against her body, twining around her wrist, brushing across her face, whisper light. Then the threads seemed to grow brighter, pushing at the pulsating evil that surrounded them. Then, from a distance, Elena heard it, she heard what the silken threads were, it was words, someone was softly whispering to her, reaching her in her dream state.

She tried to focus in on them, but it was too fragmented still by her terror. She decided to follow the spun silk. The closer she got to hear the words the more at peace she felt.

"Come on, Elena, you can come out of this. Elena, listen to me, it's not real, not real. Nothing can hurt you in there; it's just your mind. Come on Elena, listen to the sound of my voice, and listen to me. You are ok; you need to wake up now. Please, sweet Elena, come to me."

The soft gentle words swirled around her, and as the soft whispering continued, she was able to at last feel as if she could wake up out of

the bad dream. She would have to thank the whispers for pulling her out of the dark abyss of horror.

Her eyes blinked, and then stayed open. She was in her bed and Damon was kneeling on the floor next to her, his eyes locked on her, his hands clasping her against his warm chest.

"What..?" Elena asked. She knew that she had a bad dream, but now she was awake it was vanishing like tendrils of mist in a brisk wind. She inhaled. "Why are you here Damon?" Her eyes were questioning.

"I heard you crying, you were having a bad dream. Are you ok now?"

She nodded.

"What was the dream about?" quirked Damon. Elena shook her head, "I can't really get a grasp on it, it was dark, and there were bugs, and my legs wouldn't work." She stopped, knowing full well that she would never be able to accurately impart the horror of the dream by mere words.

"You were terrified." Damon stated. "I couldn't get you to wake up for a while."

Elena nodded, then in a rare moment of vulnerability she sank down on the floor beside him and wrapped her arms around him, desperate for comfort. Damon did not resist, he pulled her in close and tried to project peace and security to the girl in his arms. He was not sure how well it would work, or if it would, but he was going to do what he could to help.


End file.
